


The Devil in the Glass City

by Colighra



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bathing/Washing, Gen, Gender-Neutral Apprentice (The Arcana), Implied/Referenced Character Death, Major Character Undeath, Major Illness, Major Original Character(s), Male Pronouns for Asra (The Arcana), Not Beta Read, Not Canon Compliant, Rating May Change, Reader-Insert, Red Plague (The Arcana), We Die Like Men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-23
Updated: 2019-02-07
Packaged: 2019-07-15 20:23:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16070624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Colighra/pseuds/Colighra
Summary: AU where Lucio doesn't die the night of the masquerade. Canon divergence (obviously)Vesuvia is in a shaky recovery period as the Red Plague is finally beginning to lose its grip. Unfortunately, Asra has gotten sick and things are starting to look dire as he is refusing to ask Lucio for the miracle treatment that cured him those three years ago. He may be unwilling to stoop to that level, but you certainly aren't. You are willing to deal with the devilish Count Lucio himself to save Asra, knowing in your heart that he would do the same for you.Unfortunately, the devil doesn’t walk into your life with red horns and a tail. The devil is everything you think you want.





	1. Something to be Done

There was no denying it, Asra was getting worse. I recently set up a bed downstairs in the storage room because he could no longer make it up on his own. The sores were beginning to appear on his skin, and he would often wake up delirious and unsure of his surroundings.

I put my hand on his forehead. 

“Burning up,” I murmured, as Asra’s eyes twitched violently under closed eyelids. The sun had not even set yet, and he was already asleep, twitching madly and muttering to himself. Two more sores appeared on his back today, and his gums were beginning to look inflamed. Faust fared poorly as well, barely able to move. I couldn’t remember the last time she had spoken more than two words. Come to think of it, I couldn’t remember the last time either of them had spoken at all, outside of delirium. I couldn’t wait any longer, something had to be done, and there was only one person in the city who could help me: Lucio.

I locked the multitude of locks on the front door of the shop, and after a moment of hesitation I pressed my palm to the door, activating the magic seal. I couldn’t remember the last time I had left Asra alone, but this risk had to be taken. There was no one in Vesuvia willing to look after a plague victim, especially not as things started to get better.

I couldn’t remember any of my memories past a year ago, but Asra had told me it had all begun to improve after the masquerade. Lucio had been cured, and the plague had begun to lose its grip on the city. Nadia, his wife, was given responsibilities over the city, and under her foresight better care was afforded those afflicted and more effective quarentines were enacted. A lottery of names was pulled, and every day a number of people were called into the palace for the mysterious cure. It had seemed like bailing out a sinking ship with a thimble, but day by day I saw fewer red eyed glares of the diseased, and the city had some semblance of order.

Despite these improvements, Asra had somehow gotten sick. I begged him when the symptoms first appeared to appeal to the count. He had served at the palace before the masquerade as one of the magicians researching the plague, and rumors swirled around his relationship with the mysterious count. I had hoped that the Count would excuse him from the lottery, as he had granted other friends and nobles, but Asra refused, eyes alight with disgust that was incomprehensible to me. 

Once it had gotten bad enough, I begged him.

“Please Asra, let me go to Lucio, or even Nadia-

"No." He replied, with more vigor in his voice than I had seen in weeks.

"Asra, you're getting worse with each passing day, every time you go to sleep I'm afraid you won't wake up. You can’t leave me like this! I can’t remember anything before you, if something happens to you I'll be all alone.”

It was the first time I had ever seen him cry, but he still refused. “It’s not worth it,” he replied, “I’ve already done enough to deserve this ten times over. I can’t live with any more. And I won't drag anyone else into this not Nadia, not Lucio, not Il-" he paused for a moment, and then resumed. "Not anyone else.” 

I always suspected that Asra knew what the cure consisted of, and even with what little I knew of the count, I could guess that Lucio was not above the worst depravities. But at this point, I didn’t care. I was not going to let Asra die, no matter what lengths I had to go or what lows I had to stoop to. But I didn't have to disobey Asra directly, perhaps first I could ask Countess Nadia for her help.


	2. Meeting the Countess

It was a long walk to the palace, but the cool night air was energizing. The gates had not yet been closed for the night, and from the revelry on the lawn I guessed that Lucio was throwing a party. I walked into the front door of the palace. A blue feathered attendant with a long scroll looked down their finely contoured nose at me.

“Name?”

“I’m not here for the party. I’m here to speak to the Countess.”

He rolled his eyes. “Name?” he repeated haughtily.

“Just tell her Asra’s apprentice is here to see her. Please tell her that it’s urgent.”

He rolled his eyes at me again, but snapped at one of the pageboys to relay my message.

“You needn’t bother taking a seat.” He said with a sneer as I sat on one of the plush benches in the entrance, “The countess is bathing this evening, and she does not see visitors without appointments. I highly doubt you’ll be here long.“

There was a moment of silence as I debated whether or not to reply. I sat in silence, realizing that I had not thought this plan through. While he did not speak of her often, it was obvious to me that Asra held Nadia in high regard. I had just assume that he knew her personally, from what little cryptic information I could glean from him about his time working for the Count. It hadn’t even occurred to me that she may barely know him, only seeing him as another mage in the palace’s employ. Nadia may not even want to see me that night, she was a busy woman and Asra may simply be another magician to her. With each agonizing minute, my foolishness was made clearer to me, not helped by the blue feathered attendant clearly enjoying my every squirm and nervous sigh.

Finally, I heard the rapid pitter patter as the page boy tumbled into the room. He made an attempt at speaking, but only let out a tight wheeze. It appeared he had sprinted the entire way back from Nadia’s quarters. “The countess will see you now,” he gasped. As I was rushed from the room, I saw the blue feathered attendant mutter something to one of the other servants. 

The pageboy led me up the luxurious staircase and down an equally luxurious hall. A few twists and turns and I was completely unsure of where I was. We finally came to a stop at a luxurious door. The pageboy opened the door, and a large billow of steamy air entered the hallway. 

I felt my stomach twist as I realized the pageboy had led me to Nadia’s private quarters. Much to my relief, Nadia was clothed, sitting in a fluffy robe with her feet in the baths. She turned to look at me as the door slid shut behind me with a solid thump. Her beautiful red eyes examined me for a moment.

“Please,” she said, gesturing at a place beside her, “join me.”

I awkwardly slid off my shoes and clambered down to the side of the baths. The bathwater had a spicy scent, which reminded me of the warm tea Asra and I would drink on dreary winter days. I stuck my feet into the water, and struggled to find the words to beg for Asra's life.

She watched me for a moment, perhaps waiting for me to speak. After all, I was the one who showed up at the palace after dusk with an urgent message. 

“Countess,” I began after a moment’s hesitation, “I need your help. Asra is sick with the Red Plague. He needs the cure-“ I paused. My earlier insecurity returned in a heavy rush as I considered that I wasn’t really sure what I was asking for. Did the Countess even have access to Lucio’s cure? Did she even know what it was?

“I don’t really know what I’m asking for,” I admitted awkwardly. “I don’t know if there’s anything you can do, but please my lady I need help.”

Nadia’s beautiful red eyes regarded me solemnly. I stared at her for a moment, lost for words and consumed by my own helplessness. I glanced down at my feet floating in her beautiful bath. After a moment of awkward silence, she spoke.

“Asra has been sick for a while has he not? Have the two of you not had a discussion of his wishes?”

He had told me, one horrible night when he first began to have episodes of delirium, how he wanted his funeral. We didn’t speak of it again, and I wasn’t even sure if he remembered the conversation. That was before I realized that Asra had no intention of being healed.

I met her eyes a second time. The sorrow showed me that she already knew.

“Yes, of course my lady but-“ My throat was suddenly tight, and tears burned at the corner of my eyes. I didn’t want to organize a funeral. “He can’t die my lady, he can’t” I swallowed, “I don’t know what I would do without him.”

She regarded me pityingly. “Asra is a dear friend of mine. I know he is very dear to you, but I also know how he views Lucio’s cure.” She almost seemed to spit the last two words as her red eyes flashed, and then took a deep breath to steady herself. “I will not disrespect his wishes, even for you.”

I let out a soft choked sob that I hadn’t even realized I was holding in. She wasn’t going to help.

“I’m sorry, I know this is difficult for you, and I don't want to to have to do this alone.” She took another deep breath, and despite her shaky voice, she was able to meet my gaze. ”Please let me know if there’s anything else I can do.”

I sat there for a moment, letting the disappointment and hopelessness wash over me. Once, I was reasonably sure of my steadiness, I slid my legs out of the warm water and stood at the edge of the bath, trying to disguise the shaking of my limbs. This journey, leaving Asra all alone for the evening on one of his sickest nights, all for nothing. What if he is dead when I returned?

The thought broke me, and I quickly turned and walked towards the heavy wooden door, thick hot tears rolling down my face. My lips were trembling and my throat was so tight I could suck the humid air into my lungs. I put one hand on the cool door handle, and I turned back to Nadia, still trembling.

“I will do anything,” I told her, my voice shaky as tears spilled shamelessly down my face. “I won’t let him die, he would do the same for me.” I continued, my voice getting stronger despite the tears spilling down my face, “This changes nothing.” Her red eyes widened slightly at my statement. 

I half considered going out into the garden to ask Lucio for his help then and there, but a quick glance outside showed me his gleaming blonde hair and fine furs surrounded by adoring courtiers. Nadia may have been kind enough to see me at this hour, but Lucio was unlikely to be so accommodating. I had heard terrible stories about what had happened to people who had interrupted Lucio's party to beg for the cure, and I had no wish for my head to adorn the castle's walls tomorrow morning. No matter, I had faith that Asra could make it a few more nights. I would have to come back another time. 

“Asra would do the same for me,” I repeated bitterly to myself as I left the castle, barely noticing how easily I navigated out of the walls and onto city streets. Asra was my first memory, his violet eyes hovering above me as he spoon fed me, carried me about the shop, and massaged the warmth back into my emaciated frame. He was endlessly patient, and even when he was still traveling he would always bring me back little trinkets, teas, candies, spice and more to show that he had thought of me while he was away. I had been bitter at the time. I saw those those gifts as consolation prizes for leaving me without warning or explanation, but I treasured them now 

I let myself into the shop, and went to check on Asra. He was barely moving anymore and his breathing was much more labored than before, but he was alive. Faust lay listlessly by his side, not wiggling in the slightest as I tucked her around the nape of his neck.

I busied myself around the shop, mind swirling as I tried to formulate an alternate plan. Should I break into the castle and steal the cure? Should I try to talk to Lucio himself? But the more I grasped at possibilities for a plan, the more hopeless I felt. I tried to resist my anger at Nadia. I had not expected her to know Asra’s wishes regarding the cure, but she was a reliable, lawful woman and I could not fault her for following them. 

The sky was just beginning to light up with pinks as I heard a knock at the door. There was a time when the shop was night and day to anyone who needed it, but I found myself keeping more regular hours once Asra fell ill. I froze, trying not to make noise as I hoped whoever was there would go away. The knocking returned, this time more forceful.

“We’re not open.” I snapped, walking over to the door.

“We are not here to shop. Open up,” a gruff voice demanded.

I peered through the door. Directly in front was a well-armed palace guard. Behind him were a number of cloaked figures, one with fine armor shining in the early dawn light. As I focused on the figures, I realized that it was not the palace armor that I saw, but a glowing golden arm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who could it be?!?


	3. The Count Meets Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, our favorite not-so-goat boi has shown up to party. Someone else also has shown up to party. Who knows? Not the MC, but maybe you do.

Lucio.

Without a second thought, I threw open the door. One portly guard stood between myself and the count. Behind him, two more guards and a cloaked figure whose face I couldn’t see.  
I stared stupidly in the morning light at the count as he made his way into my shop. He must have mistaken my dumbfounded fatigue for awe, because he flashed me a bright arrogant smile as he leaned against the shop counter.

“So,” he said after a dramatic pause, “I hear my magician is sick.”

I had to suppress the ugly little curl in my gut as Lucio made his not-so-subtle claim to ownership. The idea that Asra could belong to anyone was laughable at best. The man barely seemed to belong to himself most of the time, and he was about as claimable as the summer breeze. But it didn’t matter. As far as I was concerned, Lucio could say whatever he wanted, as long as Asra woke up with clear skin and the whites of his eyes. I knew little of Lucio, Asra could barely spit out his name and the ever-felt presence of the Count’s guards meant that the townsfolk would rarely say anything with substance. But in quiet intoxicated conversations and snide subtexts, I had learned of his arrogance and his vanity. Wide eyed awe would serve me well tonight.

“Count Lucio,” I said breathlessly, “have you come to save Asra?” Out of the corner of my eye I saw one of the guards barely suppress an eye roll, and for a moment I thought I might have been laying it on a little thick. But at my breathless voice and my almost tearful eyes Lucio puffed up like a proud rooster. 

“I don’t do house calls for free,” he said imperiously, “While the cure is open to every Vesuvian, I expect something in return for such a speedy response.”  
“Perhaps we can come to an agreement?” I asked shyly and motioned towards the table and benches in the back room that I used for readings. He nodded gravely, and swept towards the room leaving his entourage to stand awkwardly in the doorway of the shop.

We sat across from each other in the cozy little room. Lucio made every attempt to look disinterested and aloof, while I did my best to wait patiently for him to speak. After a quiet moment, Lucio dropped the imperious act.

“I need a court magician.” He said bluntly. “I used to have every magician in Vesuvia under my employ, but after the cure was discovered… After I discovered the cure myself, many of the magicians such as Asra left the castle, considering their work done. Those who were left, I fired.”  
“Why keep them around when you had to be the one to find the cure?” I supplied.

Lucio smiled, “Exactly. And it would be bad form to hire someone who I have previously let go. They might resent me. But you…” He gazed deeply into my eyes. “You were not involved were you?” For a moment I was chilled at the prospect that Lucio might know something about myself that I didn’t. But I brushed it off. Asra had told me that I was not in Vesuvia during the height of the plague; he said that I was far enough away to be untouched by it. Despite his mysteriousness, I never pegged Asra as a liar.

Lucio continued with his spiel. “I am not an unreasonable man. I know you have a shop to keep and much to learn from your… master,” he said softly. “All I wish are your services at the castle twice a week for the rest of my life. Surely your master,” this was said with a discernible sneer, “could spare you.”

I was slightly taken aback. Asra’s life was worth any price I could possibly pay, but considering how he felt about Lucio’s cure, whatever it may be, I was hoping to hide the price I paid from him. I was desperate to save him, as he had saved me, but I was sure he wouldn’t see it that way. My absence two days out of the week for the rest of Lucio’s life would be a constant reminder of how I betrayed his wishes as he lay on his deathbed. He might be so disgusted that he would leave on one of his vague mystical trips and never come back! But perhaps I could use his trips to mask my time with Lucio…

“It sounds like you have a bit of a history with Master Asra,” I hedged. Lucio was not particularly good at hiding his emotions. Clearly, his need to be the hero and get what he wanted from me was warring with some former spat he had with Asra. Asra was generally aloof and detached in his relationships, but whatever he had with Lucio was enough to bring about a physical disgusted reaction at the mere mention of his name. Lucio obviously harbored some resentment as well, so I would have to move carefully. “I would never deign to question your integrity Count Lucio,” I continued, “But I am concerned about Asra’s safety. What if the cure doesn’t work on him, or what if it kills him?”

Lucio puffed up again. “I am sure that the cure will work.”

“In that case, I have a better offer for you,” I replied. “Whenever Asra goes on his trips, I will spend that time at the palace. His travels can take him away for two or three weeks at a time, and before he was ill he would travel often.”

Lucio’s eyes narrowed, his interest was obviously piqued. “What if he decides not to travel?” Lucio asked. “Perhaps his near death experience will sweeten his time spent in Vesuvia. Perhaps his wandering days will be over.”

I heard a snort coming from the doorway. I twisted around in my seat to see the two guards uncloaked, and a third figure between them, their face still covered in shadow.

“You cannot be serious Lucio,” a male voice rang out from under to hood. “You know as well as I do what a good deal they’re offering you. Let me save Asra and you’ll probably have your court magician three weeks out of the month.” 

I winced, unprepared for the reminder of how often I was left behind. 

“I’m sorry I didn’t mean it like that!” The figure said quickly. “It’s good to see you again, it’s great to have you back. In Vesuvia I mean.”

I peered more closely at the hooded figure, but with the guards preventing him from moving from the door-frame, I only saw shadows under the hood. Did I know this man? Or perhaps I knew him, before I lost my memories the year before.

“Fine then. Considering the nature of our agreement, I have one more stipulation to add: you may not tell him the contents of our deal, so as not to affect whether or not he leaves. If he decides to stay in Vesuvia forever more, I suppose I can cut my losses and count this as an example of my marvelous generosity.” Lucio grinned, the absolute picture of malevolence. “If I find out that you’ve told him what we have bargained on tonight, I will dredge up whatever plague remains in the darkened alleyways of this city, and you will watch him die in a spectacularly painful fashion.”

“Deal.” I said

“Fix him,” Lucio said sharply. Composure regained, he gestured grandly at the man and the guards behind me, and I heard them tramp out of the room and up the stairs. 

“He’s in the storage room!” I shouted out the doorway, and I moved to get up. A cool golden hand on my arm stopped my progress. 

“Now, now magician, we have a few other matters to discuss.” Lucio said coyly. “There’s the matter of what’s to be expected of my pet performer.”

I felt the heat rush into to my face. Was he saying what I thought he was saying? Lucio himself seemed to realize what he had just implied, and he went almost as red I as was. 

“Not what I meant,” he said hurriedly, as his imperious demeanor cracked once again. He tried to draw himself up to the best of his abilities, somewhat marred by his tomato red face. 

“There is no need for alarm,” he said, trying to regain some composure, “ever since my darling Noddy started re-organizing the city- For which I’m grateful might I add,” he said, ungratefully. “I have found myself to be profoundly, well, lonely around the palace.” He paused for maximum sympathy, and then let out a sad sigh. “Even my darling advisors have been busy without me. Vlastomil has his worms to look after, Valerius has been so much more invested in his wine lately than me, and the others are… not particularly entertaining on their own anyway.” 

“So what do you want me to do?” I asked sympathetically. If I was truly going to be spending weeks at a time with the man, it was best to continue coddling him.

He looked at me, with what he likely thought was a pitiful, vulnerable face. It was difficult to believe when his grey eyes glittered so deviously. “I just want someone to eat dinner with, to tell me interesting stories about the world outside of my castle walls and to entertain guests when those awful state dinners come to a conversational standstill.” 

“I can do that,” I said, with no undue amount of caution. 

“Good,” he said, abruptly getting to his feet. He swept past me and out into the front of the shop. “See you soon!” he said grandly, with a slam of a door and the clatter of hooves, Lucio, his guards, and the mysterious hooded man were gone into the daylight. 

With my heart in my throat, I crept into the backroom. Asra still lay asleep on the cot, but his skin was clear. His teeth were bared, and he did not appear to be sleeping well. Nonetheless, his gums were soft and pink, and there was not even a scar to indicate the sores that had covered his body just an hour before. Faust wiggled sleepily out from around his neck to look at me. I held out my arm, and she wiggled delightedly around my it as she gave me a gentle squeeze. 

“Ahoy!”

And with the voice of his familiar floating joyously through the morning air, Asra opened his sleepy violet eyes, clear of red for the first time in months.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long wait, long chapter. Also, subtextual sexual content, very subtextual.


	4. Something to Miss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The apprentice would like a vacation, and maybe some validation. Lucio wants... drama. What are you getting? Angst.

I wasn’t sure what I was expecting from Asra. Maybe I was hoping that he would get furious, get loud and shout at me for what I’d done, for disobeying, and we could have some kind of resolution. Perhaps I hoped deep down in my heart that he would be disappointed but understanding. But what I got was ice. Asra was furious, there was no getting around that, but he cooled his anger into polite detachment that promised no closure. 

The first breakfast had been awkward but exciting; watching him walk however haphazardly on his own, lift a spoon, blink his eyes, each small action was a joyous reminder that he was back, he was alive, and he was going to stay that way. I told him how I had gone to Nadia for help and how she had politely refused me. I told him as much as I felt that I could about Lucio’s arrival at the shop and his behavior. 

“Lucio has always been skilled at capitalizing on moments of weakness to make bad deals,” Asra said flatly. “He wouldn’t have amounted to anything in life otherwise.” 

_“Tricky bad man!”_ Faust punctuated as she snaked around my arm. 

The implication that I was weak for wanting to save Asra irked me, but I let it go; I was still basking in the glow of it all. 

“What did he want? It must have been quite pressing if he made a trip out personally.” 

For once, it was my turn to be mysterious. 

When I explained to him Lucio’s stipulation that Asra not know the contents of the deal, he rolled his eyes in the first and last show of his true emotions that I would see for weeks. 

As the days went on, Asra’s strength came back quickly, and he built up the walls between us once more. He busied himself with fixing up parts of the shop that had fallen into disrepair while he was sick. If I was in the shop, he was patching up the roof. If I tended to the garden, he was fixing up shelves in the storage room. We came together for meals and he continued to teach me small magicks, but he never seemed entirely there. I spent every day wondering whether I had idealized him in my head before his illness, or whether he was truly colder than he was before. One week went by, then two, then three; every morning I woke up more surprised than the last to find him still there. Evidently, I was not the only one. 

I heard Lucio’s arrival before I saw him. With the obnoxious clatter of the hooves of his fine horse and carriage, it was a wonder I didn’t recognize him the first night he had shown up here. The stealthy nature with which he made his way to my home seemed suspiciously uncharacteristic of him in retrospect. 

Luckily it was a slow day at the shop, so there were no customers for Lucio to inflict his histrionics onto and Faust burrowed into my shirt as I paused at restocking the shelves. There was no knock this time, just the sound of the door being unceremoniously thrown open for full dramatic effect. 

"Asra!" Lucio shouted as he stood, gleaming in the doorway, “I’ve come to pay a visit.” 

“He’s on the roof,” I said dryly. Despite the terror and the cruelty that Lucio was known for inflicting on the city, his melodrama seemed almost comedic in the daylight. 

Lucio pouted as he walked towards me, looking slightly put out. I wondered if he had jumped out of the moving carriage in his haste to make an entrance. Judging by the lack of mud splatter on his fine clothes, he probably did not leap from the carriage as it was moving, but from the mud on his boots he clearly jumped out as soon as it stopped. I guess he has some standards after all. 

He seemed to be inspecting me as well, his good hand lightly brushing over my shoulder. “You look cleaner,” Lucio said as he stalked in a slow circle around me. He was clearly not making much of an attempt to be complementary. 

“It’s amazing how much can be accomplished with two full sets of hands around the shop,” I replied politely. It would not pay to be rude to Lucio now, as I would likely be seeing him soon at the castle. I harbored no delusions that Asra was going to stick around forever; each day he seemed more and more distant. And despite only knowing the Count for two days, I knew that he has a penchant for ruining the peace. 

There was a moment of awkward silence as Lucio and I sized each other up. He had clearly not expected to run into me alone at the shop. He was there for Asra, and despite his confident rudeness he seemed unsure about where to take the conversation next. 

Asra entered from the garden, disgust radiating off of him. “Two visits in one month Lucio? Will none of the other magic shops see you?” 

Lucio laughed, surprisingly unperturbed. “You know I have always been _fascinated_ by the one who broke you for me.” **This** was what Lucio came for; he clearly wanted the chance to poke at Asra. Lucio swung me to face him with his good hand as he gripped my jaw with his golden claw, lifting my startled gaze to his grey eyes. 

I caught a brief glimpse of Asra’s face, pale and furious as Lucio gloated. My mind spun. How could I have possibly broken Asra? A startled laugh broke through my lips at Lucio’s nonsensical statement, and before I had quite realized what I was doing I retorted, “I may have only known Asra for a year, but I do know that he is one of the most _infuriatingly steady_ people in existence.” 

Lucio dropped his metal arm from my face looking uncharacteristically startled. Almost immediately he shot Asra a glance of mild delight and amusement. As for Asra, I caught a glimpse of... distress? guilt? before his face shifted into a bland mask of mild irritation. 

Lucio opened his mouth, but Asra quickly cut him off. “Unless you’re here to catch me up on the particulars of your arrangement, I would suggest that you be on your way. I understand that you’re a very busy man.” 

Lucio pondered for a moment, eyes still lit up in devilish delight as he glanced back and forth between Asra and me. It almost felt as though I was left out of a particularly amusing joke. 

Lucio finally settled on me, and with a wide smile he said, “Yes well wasn’t it _just wonderful_ of you to put in such effort to save the life of a man who you had only known for a year. I’m sure Asra is grateful for all that you’ve done for him.” Lucio paused, as if for dramatic effect, as he looked at Asra. Lucio was trying to poke and prod further and further but Asra did not give him the satisfaction of a reaction. In fact, Asra did not say anything at all. 

I was uncomfortable, not because of Lucio, but because in that moment it really hit me that Asra had never once thanked me for saving his life. In fact, when it was brought up, he treated it as a foolish, quick tempered decision and changed the subject. After taking care of him for months and watching him slowly decline to comatose I never realized how much I was desperately in need of some support. Asra never had been a warm, open person but I realized in that moment that a simple thank you would have gone a long way. 

“Well it was lovely catching up,” Lucio told me after an awkward pause as I attempted to reform my face into something remotely resembling politeness, “but I had better go. The courtiers are throwing a party in my honor tonight.” 

“So just a normal dinner for you then.” Asra replied with acid in his voice as he all but shooed Lucio out the door. 

Lucio turned back in a huff, but then looked past Asra caught my eye. Some of my previous trepidation must have shown on my face because Lucio broke out into a a gleeful grin again. “Yes, well I hope you have a lovely evening with your... apprentice.” 

Asra was quiet for the rest of the night. While he was not normally a chatty person, he was uncharacteristically grim and detached while cooking and was not particularly talkative even as I tried in vain to make conversation over dinner. I wanted to ask him more about Lucio’s comment about breaking him and my involvement in his life before I lost my memories, but my cowardice and Asra’s sullen expression were enough to keep the questions dead in my throat. 

As Asra had cooked, I did the dishes with a sinking feeling in my stomach. It was difficult to tell if Lucio did it intentionally, as I would never wish to overestimate his intelligence, but after Lucio’s obnoxious visit Asra seemed even more detached and distant than he had before and I could feel in my bones that he was eyeing the door. 

Almost as soon as I was finished with the dishes, my suspicions were confirmed. Asra swept into the kitchen with his red scarf wrapped around his neck and a rucksack slung over his back. I knew that this day would come, and logically I was surprised that it had not come sooner, but nonetheless I felt my stomach drop as he strode to the front door. 

Asra gave me a brief detached smile. “It’s a new moon, a good night for starting a journey,” he said cheerfully as he began twisting the knobs to unlock the front door. 

“Of course,” I replied, trying to match his bright tone. To my surprise, I was able to muster up a follow up question, “When will you be back?” 

“Oh sometime,” he replied breezily, “I’ll see where this journey takes me.” 

After a few more moments struggling with door, he whisked out into the night. 

“Be safe!” I shouted into the empty street. 

I paused for a moment, staring out into the night to be sure that I could no longer catch the light patter of his footsteps. 

I was angry. Angry at Lucio for showing up, angry at Asra for his coldness, and even angrier at his excuses and vagueness surrounding his journeys. He often spoke of my talent for magic, as if I was special or powerful, but that was never enough for me to go with him. 

I stared up at the sliver of the moon, and found that I was even angry at the sky tonight. Logically, I knew that if it weren’t the new moon it would be another excuse. I knew that while I had saved him, he had also nursed me back to health and he didn’t owe me anything. But I was also tired and lonely and dreading whatever Lucio had in store for me at the castle tomorrow. 

“Bullshit.” I grumbled at the moon, as if she could hear me.

**Author's Note:**

> **Spoilers for Book XIII**  
> Implied that the apprentice was dead (and revived) one year previous to the start of this story, though they don't know that yet. I will not be killing anyone else, I promise.


End file.
